


it's winter here

by arthusa



Category: WTFock | Skam (Belgium)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, robbe is 17 in here unlike in canon, sander is 18, they are gifted, they don't know each other just yet tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-14
Updated: 2020-01-14
Packaged: 2021-02-19 09:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22175425
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arthusa/pseuds/arthusa
Summary: In a world where "gifted" people exist, Robbe burns like he has a sun inside of him. He is happy with his life as it is, or at least that's what he thinks until he meets Sander, who cools down his fire.a.k.a, the one where Robbe is the fire, the warmth and Sander is the ice, the cold.
Relationships: Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans
Comments: 10
Kudos: 73





	it's winter here

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> pls read ending notes

It’s freezing cold in Antwerp. When Robbe says freezing cold, he means below two degrees - almost as if Jack Frost himself appeared in town except he forgot to bring the snow -, but he doesn’t mind because he’s hot, he’s burning from deep inside of him, like his body is his own little fireplace that keeps him warm in Winter days like these, so he’s happy.

His 2nd term in Antwerp’s School for the Gifted, a school built for people like him who were “gifted” (Robbe didn’t like calling it that, he thinks everyone is gifted, that everyone has a gift, that everyone is special), started on this same day and he’d be lying if he said he was excited. He isn’t.

School wasn’t the problem at all, in fact, he didn’t even minded it. The thing was that no one dared to get too close to him afraid he would burn them. If Robbe wasn’t so annoyed with it he’d probably yell that they’re stupid, it’s not like he could just burn people, he has it under control, he can live a perfectly normal life if only the people around him treated him as such. It was things like those that made school feel bothersome to him. Either way, the truth is that he didn’t really mind, he did have friends sure, but no one who was close to him, so yes he did feel lonely but he was okay with that because he always felt warm, like that small fire he has is his best friend.

As soon as he steps inside the school everyone knows he’s there, it’s difficult not to, he’s like a damn furnace always warming the places he’s inside of. Whenever he enters somewhere, people always feel warm unknowingly and that’s one of the reasons why he loves the lava he has inside of him so much, because he can make people feel warm when they’re cold or when they’re sad or just when they need it and that always makes his day brighter.

The people on the hallways don’t pay him mind unless it’s to step aside from his way, which makes him laugh silently because it's like he’s the main character in his own movie. And sure, to him he is but it makes him feel out of place, like he doesn’t belong when he knows he does more than anyone. That’s the main purpose of this school, not only to take in gifted people, to protect them, but to make them understand that they do belong in the world, no matter what many people might have to say about it. And it hurts Robbe a little, knowing he has every right to feel like he belongs but not getting that acceptance because everyone makes him feel like this thing he has is bad, even if it’s on accident.

However, no matter how lonely and non accepted he might feel, he’d never change who he is, he’d never give away his gift, he has accepted it and he loves it, he’s happy and he has his Mamma too, whom he loves so much and who makes him feel like he deserves the world. Robbe often tells her she deserves all the happiness and she always replies with a simple and soft “I have you my sweet sweet boy, and that’s enough.”

Thanks to all of his path towards acceptance, with all of the obstacles he had to go through, all the pain he endured from the hate he felt for himself, which eventually, finally, turned into love, he no longer cowers or lowers his head towards the looks he might receive. No, instead he keeps his head high, he listens to the music coming from the headphones on top of his ears and he walks towards class, just like he does every other single day of school. If they feel like judging then let them, but the truth is most of them stopped caring after a while. Now they only spare a few looks and that’s it. Robbe doesn’t care.

Like every other school for gifted people, this one too has a class twice a week that focuses on teaching students on how to deal with their gifts, how to control them, how to tell the people around them about it, among other things. For two years, since he first got into the school, Robbe has been having this class and it’s always the same thing. Don’t get him wrong, he knows it’s a way of help, but every year they learn the same thing but put into different words like a fucking scratched record. There’s nothing new to know and he’s not the only one who thinks it, seeing as everyone in that class spends their time either talking to their classmates or on their phone, no one pays attention, no one cares.

Robbe arrives to the classroom where he’s gonna have his first class of the day - Gifted 101 (the name doesn't really make any sense but he wasn’t the one who came up with it) - earlier as he usually did, not because he has to but because he likes spending time alone looking out the window and thinking about anything that comes to mind. He sits at his typical desk situated in the middle row and puts his backpack on the floor next to him unopened (he doesn't have a notebook for this class since he doesn't need one). No one dared to sit close to him so the chair next to his was always empty. More space for himself, he guesses.

While waiting he took a look around the classroom as if he was seeing it for the first time. It looked just like the typical schools for kids with powers you would see on TV or read in a book. Maybe a little like Hogwarts, except less dramatic and more modern. The floor was built with light wood while the chairs and tables were made of dark wood. In front of the students tables there was a white board and a projector hanging from the ceiling. Depending on which classroom in the building you were in, the number of windows would change but in this specific one there were two, not too big but Robbe would say they were big enough to fill the classroom with light. Even though it wasn’t sunny today, it was cloudy and they were foggy from the cold, it looked beautiful. You could see the street and part of the city from those windows and that’s why this was his favorite classroom, it made him feel peaceful.

The bell indicating the beginning of class starts ringing and Robbe is brought back, aware of his surroundings once again. He was so caught up with his own thoughts he didn’t even notice the students shuffling into class and sitting down in their respective seats until he heard the sound of said bell. Embarrassed and hoping no one has noticed anything, he composes himself quickly and gently coughs acting as if 10 seconds prior he wasn't distractedly looking out the window.

Mrs. Peeters, his teacher, enters the classroom in her loud high heels and her colorful and eccentric summer dress. Robbe doesn't judge, but who in their right mind goes outside in a dress when it's freezing? Cold didn't bother him yes, but that was because he was a walking furnace, so how was it that his teacher could handle it too? Because last he heard her gift wasn't being able to warm things up or make fire, no, her gift had something to do with her-

Every student in class was looking at him. He knew this because he could feel their eyes on him and it made his skin crawl. Why was everybody looking at him? He didn't do anything, he didn't even speak he was just thinking to himself, so why was everyone looking at him like he just murdered someone in cold blood? Robbe always made sure he wasn’t the center of attention but apparently today just wasn’t his day.

And that's the exact moment when he notices his teacher whispering something in a boy's ear, who was standing right next to her. A boy he's never seen before in this class much less in this school. A new boy. It's also when he realizes the temperature in the room has gone down a little. Now, it's no longer warm like Robbe had made it, it's more lukewarm, as if a window was opened and the cold was coming in. But he knows for a fact none of the windows were open because just a few minutes ago he had taken a look around the classroom and nothing was open then. Even if that had been the case, that someone had opened the window after the bell rang, then Robbe would’ve noticed and he didn’t. No, something was off, he just didn’t know what.

The new boy was still standing by the teacher’s desk, possibly waiting for Mrs. Peeters to introduce him, and Robbe was still looking at him. He had platinum bleached hair, it looked soft and Robbe wonders what it would feel like to the touch. He was wearing a David Bowie T-shirt with a black leather jacket on top, some normal black skinny jeans and combat boots. He looked maybe an inch or two taller than Robbe and his gaze was cold, focusing on one specific point somewhere on the wall of the back of the classroom. His eyes, Robbe was trying to see the color of by attempting to focus subtly on them without no one in class noticing that he was undeniably checking out the new student. Maybe Robbe's vision was going bad, because he couldn't sworn the boys eyes moved a little and locked with Robbe's own for a split second. It had for sure to be an illusion.

Taking a deep breath and positioning himself better in his seat after blatantly running his eyes over the new student’s entire figure, which if he had been caught would’ve been embarrassing, he waited for the teacher to do something about this new arrival, since he was just standing there for a reason.

Robbe was feeling relaxed, the day still hasn’t kicked him in the ass and the class had been pretty chill until now, mostly because no one had bothered him yet. The odds seemed to be on his side.

Like always he should learn to never feel like he’s lucky because things end up always turning against him. Case in point, behind him people were whispering about something or someone. Robbe, of course, didn’t want to immediately jump to conclusions and assume it was him they were talking about, but then the whispering stopped and he heard someone take a deep breath followed by a guy, he had no idea the name of, getting his attention by speaking directly to him.

"Robbe, why is the room so cold? Did you do something? Can you please-" that was enough to make Robbe turn in his chair and look the bastard right in the eye because who does this fucker think he is?

Things seemed to be going so well but there’s always that one asshole in every single class that thinks that Robbe is their fireplace, only there to warm people up. No, the reason why Robbe kept everywhere he went warm was because he liked it, he liked being warm and he liked making other people warm. However, it wasn’t his duty to do so, he didn’t have to do it, he did because he WANTED to. Which is why the comment the guy made really messed with his peaceful mind.

"I'm not your fucking personal air conditioner, if you're cold wear your damn jacket since it's right there on your chair!" he interrupted, not exactly screaming but loud enough for the entire class to hear. He still managed to keep himself slightly calm and not too angry even though witnesses might have said otherwise.

The class went silent at his little scene and he took it as them understanding that whatever it is they had been trying to do had ended right then. He turned around again, this time towards the front of the classroom and was surprised to realize the teacher neither told him off on his little “scene” nor was she paying any attention. Maybe she heard it all but she thought the reaction was well deserved and that’s why she didn’t say anything. Either way Robbe wasn’t going to dwell much on it and he decided to move on.

Back to waiting for his teacher to be ready, he couldn’t help but shift his gaze to look at the boy once again and when he did he was shocked to notice he was staring right back at him, eyes unwavering, fixed on Robbe’s own without moving an inch in his place, as if he didn’t mind he was just caught staring.

All of a sudden the room felt a little more hot than it was just a second ago but it was just because Robbe’s cheeks were burning and his heart was beating way too fast for it to be normal, which,  _ what the fuck? why is it doing that? stop! _ This new boy was making Robbe feel things and he didn’t like it one bit. It was only the first day back for fucks sake and it already looked like Robbe was in a drama movie with him as the protagonist. 

He calmed himself down thanks to organizing his thoughts and he decided that he wasn’t just going to back down on their little staring contest, he wasn’t about to lose the challenge, so he stared right back with as much strength as he could muster. He lifted his left arm to put it on top of his desk so he could rest his face in his left hand. All of this while still making eye contact and with his heart still wanting to leave his chest.

Say what you want, but in that moment Robbe saw himself as a real warrior.

After what seemed like too long for a teacher to get ready (not that he was complaining), Mrs. Peeters stood in the middle of the classroom right next to the platinum haired boy and coughed to get the attention of the class. Slowly the noise diminished.

"Very well students, I apologize it took me a few minutes of class to get everything ready but as you can see I bring a new face with me." She looked towards the new boy and smiled, "Would you like to present yourself, dear? Give a bit of information to class or something like that?"

Bowie fan (which apparently was what Robbe was calling him until he knew his real name), didn't even blink, he just kept staring at Robbe, as if he was trying to read him. Robbe could tell the man wasn't interested in this class not even one bit, and he didn't blame him cause who was? But why would he find Robbe more interesting than the class itself?

The teacher laughed awkwardly at the lack of reaction from the boy but she still continued, "Uhm, so this is Sander," she pointed towards, as Robbe now knew him as, Sander, "he's recently transferred to the college section of this school which makes him a year older than you and he's an artist! Since this was the only class in Gifted 101 that still had available places he was placed here. Would you like to add anything else?" the question was directed towards Sander himself.

Still, amazingly, making eye contact with Robbe he shook his head 'no' two times, indicating that he didn’t have anything else (more like anything at all since he hasn’t spoken not even once the entire time) to say. He seemed like a man of few words at first glance but Robbe hoped he was wrong, because he really did want to get to know him. He wasn’t even sure why he just had this constant inside voice at the back of his head, telling him to befriend the boy.

"Okay! So, everyone treat him well and now Sander you can sit next to Robbe over there since it's the last place available. He’s great company I promise." she finished the introduction by smiling at Robbe and winking at him, making him blush. She then gave Sander’s back a soft pat to encourage him to walk towards his new seat.

With his backpack over his shoulder and sadly (wait what?) breaking eye contact, Sander strolled towards his seat, next to Robbe's own. He placed his bag on top of the table, sat down and took what seemed like a sketch book and a pencil case from his backpack. At least he’s going to use the rest of the time in class productively contrary to Robbe who was just gonna stare at nothing and fly away with his imagination, which was what he usually did.

The teacher had already started class but Robbe was no longer paying attention, both because he wasn't interested and because he was too focused thinking about his new desk mate. It was the first time he had this strong feeling of wanting to get someone better, and it made him nervous to the point he didn’t know how to start a conversation.

"I guess you won," a low voice startled him out of his thoughts. Sander was speaking to him. Why was he speaking to him? It didn’t matter right now. He should focus more on the fact that he now had the opportunity to make a good impression for this boy, he just hoped he wouldn’t mess it up.

Robbe looked up to his right to see him already staring at him. The boy in front of him was smiling. It was a beautiful smile, perfect even, all white teeth, the type of smile that could make anyone fall in love with him, Robbe included. As a matter of fact, he was starting to think that he was already falling because looking at that wonderful smile, he couldn’t help but lifting his own lips up in return.

Remembering Sander had spoken to him, he let out a low chuckle at the commentary and replied, “I guess I did. What’s my prize?” He was feeling brave and he had no idea what he had meant by that question but it had already been said so he was going to stick to it. There was no way he could backtrack and trip over his words now, that would be even more embarrassing.

Sander, however, didn’t reply to him, he just continued staring at him, this time more intently making Robbe cheeks start to heat up again and his heart beat a mile a minute. The strong glare made him feel as though he had been stripped naked and was being known raw. He felt exposed and he wasn’t even sure why or if he had done or said anything that might have given away something about him.

Suddenly there was a hand extended towards him, Sander’s, he realized, “I’m Sander.” 

Without even thinking, he clasped the hand in front of him in a handshake but as soon as they touched hands he almost jumped out of his chair while unconsciously letting out a gasp. While Robbe’s hand was burning hot, Sander’s was as cold as ice. He didn’t know how to react with how shaken at the contact he was but he noticed he wasn’t the only one. Sander, albeit being more subtle about it, looked just as thrown off about the whole thing as Robbe was.

Afraid things would get awkward, he decided to just continue the conversation, “So-” he cleared his throat, “so I’ve heard.” Shit, now that for sure sounded awkward, there was no way things wouldn’t be uncomfortable now.

Even though he was still obviously coming out of the shock, Sander still managed to smile at Robbe’s (very) poor attempt at being funny, which in return made Robbe mentally clap himself in the back.

“Do remind me, who are you again?” Sander was joining in on it, and this, this Robbe could handle. This back and forth banter and joking around he was able to keep up with without making a fool out of himself.

Since he started it, he might as well finish it, right? “Oh you don’t know? Now that just makes things awkward between the two of us,” he continued by making the most dramatic face he could possibly make. He couldn't keep up the charade for long though because then he lost it and just started smiling without being able to stop, “I’m Robbe, but I’m guessing you already know that.”

“Yes, I might have heard it around somewhere.” Sander smiled at him back. And that was the end of the conversation. The platinum haired boy went back to sketching something on his sketch book and Robbe went back to thinking about said boy.

With everything that went on, in such a short amount of time, Robbe almost forgot about the eyes he had been trying so hard to figure out the color of. But now he knew. They were winter blue, beautiful winter blue that made anyone freeze on the spot, but that wouldn’t necessarily meant he was just cold or harsh, said eyes also gave away tenderness and softness, Robbe could see it.

He wasn’t sure what it was that made him come up with such thoughts, but somehow, the fact that it was freezing cold in Antwerp with no snow, started to make sense and he now realizes that he doesn’t mind it after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wanna start to say big thanks to mars for beta reading this...thing.. love u<3 and for the clown server for encouraging me to keep writing it fjnekf.  
> im always bad when it comes to plot so i don't expect this to be perfect, its only the first chapter and ill try to do my best on the following ones. i always accept constructive criticism and comments are always welcome! i hope u guys enjoy what ive brought u for now! my tumblr is [arthusa](http://arthusa.tumblr.com/) if u wanna check it out i also make gifs! see u until the next chapter (hopefully)


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